Posted 13 years ago
BHock45
(807 items)
Found this at a garage sale. The bottom says Le Creuset along with the letter K. Under the lid also has the letter K. I believe it hold 13 quarts. Does anyone have any information about the year it was made, where it is from, or anything else about it? I would appreciate any information thanks!
The handle is different to the new ones. Yours looks like signature Flame colour, used since 1934. The enamel can deteriorate over time if it is not used properly.
Yours looks in pretty good nick.
Try a recipe like Roman spring lamb from the Silver Spoon Italian cookbook.
I use my Le creuset pieces every day. I also have a Danish one designed by an American. Cookware is certainly collectible and it's useful too!
Check out this site in French for items wuth handles like yours that they date to 1945: http://lachapellesixties.blogspot.com/
Wikipedia says:
"Le Creuset was founded in 1925 in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in Northern France by two Belgian industrialists - Armand Desaegher (a casting specialist) and Octave Aubecq (an enameling specialist). The pair introduced the signature Le Creuset round cocotte (French/Dutch Oven) soon after; the cocotte remains the company's most popular cookware piece to this day.
In 1934 Le Creuset introduced the signature Flame (orange) colored enamel on its cast iron cookware items. The company also invented the doufeu, a Dutch oven with a concave lid that is filled with ice during the cooking process.
After World War II, Le Creuset began to focus on exportation, and by 1952, 50% of all cast iron production was bound for the United States. In 1955 Le Creuset introduced its first grill model - the Tostador - and in 1956 a new color, Elysees Yellow, was introduced to great success.
In 1957, Le Creuset purchased its competitor Les Hauts Fourneaux de Cousances and began producing some signature Cousances cookware vessels, including the doufeu, a cocotte with a water lid, under the Le Creuset brand.
The current Le Creuset logo was introduced in 1970 and was designed to be a symbolic representation of metal casting and molding.
The company was purchased by current owner Paul Van Zuydam in 1987.
Thanks for the info. and comments. I did email Le Creuset, and I will post any further info. I actually got another one in the deal. A smaller French Oven with a black knob for the lid handle. I could not find any info. doing my own research on this item. What caught my eye was the handle on the lid, and the ribbed bottom. When I searched for Descoware, I found some items very similar in color and design from the 1940 time period. Thanks again!
Anyone have a roundabout guess to how much it might be worth?
10 MONTHS LATER! vetraio50, I meant to mention that a few months ago I made that recipe with the bay leaves you recommended. My family loved it and thought I was some master chef. Thanks again for your suggestion!
i purchased a new one of these -same color - in 1990. i remember that it cost around $100 at that time.
ho2cultcha....does yours have the black knob as the handle for the lid, or the hoop like mine above.
Hi BHock45, I just stumbled upon your post about the vintage le creuset with the loop handle. I found one too, same size a little more yellow (think school bus yellow almost). Its in very good condition with no stains on the inside. HUGE and heavy. Stamped le creuset on the bottom. Found it at goodwill for $25, what a steal!
Just wondering if you've found any more information about your piece. I can't seem to locate any info about mine since it has the slightly different handle. I called LC directly and they said that they could not give me an estimate on the year of production with the description because pieces are constantly being manufactured and some countries are 10 years behind what the US were producing last year :(
smuckers, I have never been able to date or value the piece. I use both pieces and they were well worth the money. Good luck.
I've been trying to find some info on some other identifying aspects of older Le Creuset when I came across your (3 year old) question. Dating Le Creuset can be difficult because they've remained fairly constant over the years; the flame color and certain designs are still in use today, and they have a tendency to reintroduce older lines from time to time. However, yours has a couple of solid identifiers that I know of:
1) The loop handle - these were discontinued on almost all products in the 1960's so you're before that. (a few smaller pieces are still produced with the loop handle, likely due to their size)
2) The ribbed bottoms were introduced on some pieces in the 1950's and phased out completely by the mid 1980's.
I would say with some confidence, mid 1950 to mid 1960.
Worth? Depends on the buyer. I go by current sale price for similar size/shape piece (usually the outlet store prices as opposed to some place like Williams & Sonoma) and go down based on condition for used pieces. Some collectors pay more for vintage and less common pieces, unfortunately this tends to lead to an artificially inflated market for ALL pieces with the same brand name; making pricing difficult.
If you bought it at a "garage sale price" I'm willing to bet you got a really good deal.